Puzzle.



No. 787,796. PATEN'JZED APR. 18, 1905.

A. RYDQUIST.

PUZZLE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 19, 1904.

ghwentoz awe "tugs UNITED STATES Patented April 18, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

PUZZLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 787,796, dated April18, 1905.

Application filed April 19. 1964. Serial No. 203,904.

To all 711711073 1 it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLrH RYD nrs'r, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Puzzles; and I dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in puzzles; and it consists in adevice formed in a series of loose links fastened together. togetherwith a long key or link provided with an elongated loop, which is placedupon the said links. Some of the links are so secured with respect toeach other that the elongated loop of the key' may be passed over theends of the said link in order to remove the key from the links or placeit upon the same again.

The invention also consists in a device comprising a number of linkshaving eyes at their ends, the said eyes engaging the looped portion ofan adjacent link, two of said links, however, beingarranged so that theeyes in the ends of one link engage the eyes in the ends of anotherlink, the said device also having a removable member formed with anelongated loop which is capable of being threaded upon the links insuccession for removing or replacing it in the puzzle.

It also consists in certain other novel constructions, combinations, andarrangements of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described andclaimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved puzzle,showing the keylinks threaded upon the loose links forming the puzzle.Fig. 2 is a view of the puzzle, showin g the looped member or keypassing through some of the eyes of the links and about to be passedover the ends of one of the said links, the figure as a wholeillustrating an intermediate step in the removal or replacement of thekey. Fig. 3 an elevation of the puzzle, showing edge views of the linksand the key, the said key being located upon an intermediate link.

The puzzle is made up of a seriesof links formed of blanks folded attheir central portions with their ends brought near together,

the ends of each link being formed with eyes or enlarged open portions.The puzzle may consist of a number of links, there being shown in thedrawings four. Two of the links, as 1 and 2, are preferably made longerthan the other two links, 3 and 4. The connection between the links 1and 2 is effected by placing the eyes 5 and 6 of link 2 upon the foldedor looped portion 7 of link 1. The looped portion 8 of link 2 does notengage the other links of the puzzle, but is engaged by the elongatedlink 9 of the key 10 when it is in position in the puzzle. The eyes 11and 12 of the link 1 engage the looped portion 13 of the link 4. Thesaid link 4 therefore carries both the link 1 and the link 2. The eyes14 and 15 of link 4 engage the eyes 16 and 17 of link 3. A ring 18 maybe employed in connection with the link 3, if desired, the said ringforming a sort of a handle or holding means when manipulating thepuzzle. This ring, however, forms no part of the puzzle itself andmerely forms an element of convenience.

In operating the puzzle the first endeavor is to remove the key 10entirely from the links 1, 2, 3, and 4, after which the endeavor shouldbe to return the key to its first position in engagement with the endlink 2 of the series forming the puzzle. The secret in operating thepuzzle lies in the fact that the elongated loop of the key can be passedover the ends of the loop 4, being first threaded upon one end thereofand then slipped off of the other end thereof. Starting with the partsshown in Fig. 1, the aim first is to pass the loop from the link 2 tothe link 1, and in order to do this it is necessary to insert the end ofthe link through one of the eyes, as 5, of the link 2 and then pass theend of the loop through one of the eyes of the link 3, as 16. The end ofthe loop9 may then be placed over the eye 14 of the link 4. Thisposition and movement is fully illustrated in Fig. 2 of the drawings.After drawing the link downwardly over the eye 14, so that the loop willengage the looped portion 13 of the link 4, the said loop is thenbrought between the eyes 11 and 12 of the link 1. From this position theloop may be passed through the eye 17 of the link 3 and thence over theeye 15 of the link 4:, when the key will be in position to be drawn intothe loop 7 of the link 1. The key will then occupy a position withrespect to the series of links as shown in Fig. 3, and in the nextoperation the link 2 can be ignored. The operation in removing the keyfrom the link 1 is similar to that just described, the loop 9 beingpassed through one eye of the link 3 and over one end of the link 4,after which it is brought to a position between the eyes 11 and 12 ofthe link 1, and from this point the loop is passed outwardly through oneof said eyes and over the other end of the link 4:, when it Will befound that the key, with its elongated loop 9, can be drawn out of theeye of link 3 and will be entirely free of the links of the puzzle. Inplacing the key back in position upon the puzzle again the operation isreversed. The loop 9 of the key is passed through one of the eyes of thelink 3 and over first one end and then the other of the link 4., thesaid loop having also been placed over one end of the intermediatelink 1. This will return the key to its engagement with the loop oflink 1. By bringing the lopp 9 from the position shown in Fig. 3 to aposition such that the loop will lie between the eyes of the link 2 thesaid key can again be quickly transferred to its normal position on theend link 2 by slipping the loop over the link 4,threading it upon oneend thereof, and passing it off at the other end.

The structure of the puzzle is simple, and yet its operation issufliciently diflicult to make it interesting in endeavoring to removeand replace thekey from the position shown in Fig. 1.

Having noW described my invention, What I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. A puzzle comprising a series of U-shaped links connected together, afiat key made in a single piece and provided with an elongated slotwhich may be slipped through portions of the links and threaded overother parts of the links, and a terminal U-shaped link at one end of thepuzzle arranged to lie in an opposite direction to the other links.

2. A puzzle comprising intermeshing oppositely-extending links, a seriesof joined links engaging one of the oppositely extending links, the saidjoined links being connected by eyes at their ends and an open key madein a single piece and capable of insertion through the said eyes and ofbeing threaded over some of the links for connecting and disconnectingthe key from the puzzle.

3. A puzzle comprising a series of links having centrally-loopedportions and eyes at their ends, the eyes of some of the links engagingthe loops of others, a terminal U-shaped link arranged so as to extendin a direction opposite to the other links and connected with the endlink of the series and an integral key having an elongated loop forengaging the loops and eyes of the links in removing and replacing thekey from the puzzle.

4:. A puzzle comprising a number of U- shaped links connected together,all of said links extending in one direction except one which latterlink lies in an opposite direction,

and a removable key engaging the said links.

5. A puzzle comprising a plurality of links having folded portions andeyes in their ends, a U-shaped link having its looped or folded portionextending in the opposite direction from the other links and its eyesengaging the eyes of the adjacent link, the interlocked eyes of thereversed links lying approximately in the same plane, and a removablemember having a loop capable of being passed over the links and throughthe eyes thereof.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aifix my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

ADOLPI-I RYDQUIST.

